Congressman Mackenzie Highlights Reform Legislation at White House Anti-Fraud Roundtable

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07), representing the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos, joined Vice President JD Vance and other officials from the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud this morning for a roundtable discussion. During the roundtable, which featured an update about ongoing Administration efforts to crack down on fraud in national benefits programs, Congressman Mackenzie detailed his recently-passed legislation, H.R. 8823, the Putting Patients First by Strengthening Provider Accountability in FECA Act. This legislation amends the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) to permanently allow the Department of Labor (DOL) to suspend payments to medical providers who have been convicted of fraud.

“As we’ve seen thanks to the efforts of Vice President Vance and others in the Administration, fraud in federal benefit programs is a serious problem, both in terms of scale and impact,” said Congressman Mackenzie. “Not only has this epidemic of fraud robbed taxpayers and eroded public trust, it weakens critical programs and strips resources from some of the most vulnerable in our country. That’s why, as Chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, I held a hearing examining the billions of dollars which have been stolen from federal workers by fraudulent providers, and why I’ve introduced legislation which cracks down on these schemes. Thank you to the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud for giving us the opportunity to discuss these important reforms and our broader efforts to root out fraud.” 

According to Vice President Vance, the Administration has uncovered hundreds of billions of dollars in potential fraud and “secured an additional estimated $55 billion in indictments, settlements and civil penalties.” Recent wins by the Task Force include eliminating hundreds of fraudulent hospice and home healthcare providers, cracking down on over $20 billion in fraudulent covid-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and the prosecution of hundreds of fraudsters. 

Congressman Mackenzie’s recently-passed legislation will help to safeguard FECA, which provides workers’ compensation benefits for federal workers. At a Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing chaired by Congressman Mackenzie earlier in the year, witnesses testified about over $1.7 billion in medical provider fraud targeting the program. Congressman Mackenzie’s legislation permanently codifies DOL’s authority to protect FECA from scammers. 

Learn more about Congressman Mackenzie’s anti-fraud legislation HERE

Watch the introduction of the roundtable HERE

Photo from event available HERE